The AuctionBytes Blog has been giving a voice to online merchants since its launch in 2005. Named one of the world's top 30 blogs in 2008 by "Blogging Heroes." Weigh in with your thoughts on the joys and pitfalls of selling online.

By: David Steiner

Sponsored Link

Feedback on eBay certainly has taken a few left turns since Pierre's initial concept that allowed trading partners to rate each other. In probably the most dramatic deviation, Sellers will no longer be allowed to leave Negative or Neutral feedback for Buyers. There are some other changes, which can be found here: http://pages.ebay.com/services/forum/new.html but this is the most interesting paragraph:

What changes are being made to the eBay Feedback system?

There are five key elements to the new Feedback system being introduced in the first half of 2008:

1. Beginning in February, buyers and sellers will be able to earn up to one Feedback per week from the same trading partner. Today, members may only affect each other's Feedback scores one time, regardless of the number of transactions between the parties. This change will both encourage repeat transactions and reward good service. 2. Sellers will no longer be able to leave negative or neutral Feedback for buyers. This change will occur in May, 2008. 3. Removal of negative and neutral Feedback left by members who are suspended or who fail to respond to the Unpaid Item Process (UPI). 4. Positive Feedback percentage will be based on the past 12 months of Feedback, rather than lifetime, since it is most indicative of the seller's recent performance. 5. Restrictions on when Feedback can be left: * Buyers must wait three days before leaving negative or neutral Feedback * Instead of 90 days, members will be able to leave Feedback for 60 days

----

We'll be speaking with John Donohoe later today, so if you have any specific questions, post them here before noon, and we'll try to incorporate the best ones in our interview.

Call 1-877-222-0856 and leave a 60 second message about what you think of these changes.

by: mechelle

Sat Feb 16 01:22:45 2008

just some thoughts- well a lot

EBay’s evil Plot unraveled

Through out the last couple of weeks I have been stuck on trying to figure out what eBay/Paypal is really up to- how do all of the odd - seemingly unrelated- changes compliment each other. Well it hit me, and if you are pissed now just wait until I finish laying out their devious plot:

Overview2007 eBay rolls out DSR (detailed seller ratings) the star system2007 neutral feedback is calculated as negative feedback for sellersBuyers don’t know this - so put a neutral thinking - okay the transaction was okay - not pissed but not ecstatic either = neutralSeller freaks - oh geeze -why didn’t they just email - we could have worked it out- that’s not right to not let someone make things better for you before you give them bad feedback (neutrals are the same as negatives in eBay’s eyes)

Why does it matter so much the rating? Why does the rating create such panic?2007 Buyer satisfaction requirements- based on negative & negative neutrals (all negatives & neutrals) relative to positive feedback

Maybe it doesn’t seem like that big of a deal to only be able to list 20 items instead of 120- but that could very well mean the difference in whether or not the sellers 6 year old boy gets dinner..

I know we are all looking at computer screens so it is easy to let the forum dilute the reality that there is a man or woman who works their tails off everyday working their eBay store and has a life to live, a family to support, and simply doing their level best not to have a breakdown concerning the constant pressure from eBay (their damn fees, lack of support, continual assaults on our intelligence, and their publicly announcing their false story of eBay sellers are nothing but extorting trash). Yes, we are bad bad bad people, so bad that eBay needs to protect our customers from us, yet not bad enough to be ejected from eBay. I always find that interesting.

So, with the constant abuse, we pay for monthly by selling (and yes buying) on eBay, and the never ending insane expectations driven with continual threats of suspension (if we do this or if that or if this and that) you get the point. Yes, panic takes over when the seller feels they have been unjustly given a negative (neutral = negative) feedback- you know because the buyer never paid, or the buyer wanted a refund and you had the nerve to tell her/him no you weren’t going to give them money just to avoid a negative, or the buyer gave a neutral not because they were to chicken to leave a negative, but because they clearly didn’t feel that the negative descriptor was appropriate for the experience.

This has caused some cases of sellers not handling the situation appropriately by throwing a negative out there (totally wrong reaction) to try and make the buyer agree to withdraw. This is the precise reaction that eBay had counted on. Tell the sellers their neutral is actually counted as negative, but don’t tell the buyer exactly what they are saying when the check the box. Result everyone is freaking.

This compounded by eBay’s other 2007 piece of the plotIn November eBay started letting non-eBay members bid auctions and commit to purchases. (yes, this is why all of our non-paying buyer instances have increased exponentially). Though they are not allowed to leave feedback or have protection on a purchase until after they sign up as a member (at which time all member rights are retroactively applied and the seller’s quarters are up for grabs).

So, eBay sets the scene with all of these little changes that didn’t seem to have any connection, but clearly do, and then they make the big announcements!!

We never recalled any of 2007 changes that have led to the sellers fear of the buyer, the buyer wondering what the Heck, and eBay enjoying a celebratory toast over how well their plan is coming to a front.

January 29, 2008- eBay Monster Part 2Holiday season just ended - low turn out in general, but a high turn out of non-paying buyers. I’ll bet that every eBay seller was stiffed on at least 6 transactions during the holiday season. Their item in limbo for 15 days as per eBay’s policy. For those of us who had are best sellers shelved, because of a non-paying buyer, we are raw to say the least concerning non-paying buyers.

Low turn out for holiday season left us all rattled and overloaded with inventory and non-paying buyers to deal with. Sales are bad and money is scarce. Perfect Timing for eBay’s plan part 2

New eBay changes(These guys are such freaking idiots they’ll totally fall for this one- he he he)Fee Decrease- free gallery, nickel off of insertion, and a 3.5% increase in final value fees. (I think they bought it- ha ha ha - I think so too- he he he)

(these store slaves are so dumb watch this- haaaahhhh)

(okay, this is my favorite part- oh man I wish I could be there to see their gullible faces)Store FVFs from 10% to 12%

(you know only 1% of these fools will have enough arithmetic knowledge to see this is an increase- oh man this is great!)

Powerseller Rewards- Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha-Currently, only 15% of eBay sellers would be eligible for the 15% discount on FVFees- Again- 15% discount on FVFs not on the FV of the sell price just on the fees eBay collects.So, if you had an auction item sell for $1.00 eBay would get $0.0875, which of course would be rounded up to $0.09 in favor of eBay always.If you are eligible for the 15% power seller reward discount than you would get 15% of $0.09, which comes to $0.0135, of course this would round down again in eBay’s favor, and you will get 1 cent- that’s it 1 centTo be eligible the seller must have 4.8 score on each DSR area- it’s not an average- each one. The sellers who have 4.6 and up until the 4.8 are eligible for the 5% power seller rewardSo, the item sells for $1.00 eBay gets there 9 cents rounded up from .0875 cents- the power seller will be rewarded with 5% of$0.09, which comes to .0045- rounded down in eBay’s favor - the seller will get $0.00 Store Listings - item sells for a $1.00 eBay gets 12 cents you seller gets either 15% or 5% of eBay’s FVFees- you can do the math for this scenario

Of course they are willing to “extend seller protection policy - a side from their not making good on the promise of seller protection 99% of the time- they for sure won’t have to do anything at all now, because they have the seller by their B***s (figuratively speaking of course) using their own customer’s hands-

In the scramble to avoid negative feedback hoping to avoid having their account limited or being suspended for some time resulting in their children going hungry, the elderly woman or man who supplements his/her soc sec income by selling on eBay, or the disabled individuals who find themselves better suited for an eBay (a once upon a time eBay anyway) occupation. Yes, it is these people that eBay terrorizes- it is these people that support eBay by being their customers. Funny how eBay expects so much from it’s customers who have chosen to sell on eBay- yet has no issues with telling us all to F*** off a hundred different ways every single day

(This one is really going to rile them all up, and they won’t even notice the rest- the freaking degenerates- life is to easy sometimes I think a rat would catch on quicker than these losers- ha ha ha disgust head shaking- hard to believe they are actually of the same species!)

Sellers can no longer leave buyers negative or neutral feedback- only positive. Buyers can still leave positive, negative, or neutral feedback even if they never paid for the item at all

(eBay “we listened to our buyers and sellers and this is what you wanted” - an increase- I mean- a decrease in fees and public humiliation leveled on you by someone who never even paid you. This is why we encourage every buyer, who never paid, to respond to the dispute even if it’s only to say they’re not paying- so you can get your negative feedback we wouldn‘t want you to look like a good seller)

eBay has thrown item description, seller communication, shipping time to the side to focus on shipping fees. I find this funny, because I am someone who buys from eBay sellers and I am more concerned about item as described than I am with shipping cost- I would think that eBay would emphasize this score over the rest, but they don’t seem to think that the customers of people who sell on eBay care if their item is accurate. Interesting argument, I wonder how many people they spoke with actually feel this way

Why does eBay care so much about shipping cost?Simple or complex- you decideFVFees are based on the sold price of the item -fees are not assessed on shipping or taxes. EBay looses money when sellers inflate the shipping fee to compensate for the products low price. Fee Evasion - sellers aren’t out to get buyers they are intending to burn eBay (cheer cheer). Unfortunately, this does illicit a negative feeling from a seller’s customer, and it’s not the best long term business practice.

EBay’s new Shipping fee DSR purpose- Best MatchFor those sellers who are not enticed or eligible for the “massive power seller reward” they need another method to force them into loading the shipping cost into the product so they can get the new 3.5% FVF increase on auction/fixed price & the additional 2% FVF from store sells. How will they accomplish this Instead of the sort default being time ending soonest- they have decided to determine the sort order by shipping cost & shipping fee DSR ratings.So what does this mean for eBay sellers?All eBay sellers continue to pay the exact amount of to list but,The listings that the seller conformed with eBay and loaded the shipping fee into the product and has 4.5 or higher DSR in shipping cost will be at the top of the search results The listing with shipping fees will be (doesn’t matter if it is exact postage) will be below all of the free shipping listings - regardless of time the listing is ending.So, a listing that honestly shows there are postage fees- and hasn’t had the fees packed into the price for eBay to make money off of- will be lucky to ever be seen before the auction ends, and of course won’t sell

So for those who stand firm on the way they will be treated and demand respect from all parties (such as myself) eBay has a special treat to beat us into conformity - they think!

Paypal earns interest off of seller’s money 21 day fund freezes!!

For those of us who refuse to be extorted by one of those bad buyers (relatively speaking not very many, but enough to incite reasonable concern) or by eBay, we can expect to rack up the negatives quickly. While at the same time, because I refuse to deceive my customers by suggesting they are receiving free shipping, which is absolutely ridiculous- shipping is not free. My DSR in shipping fees may look very poor. I am a seller of some items that eBay/PayPal consider high risk, my customer satisfaction ratings have plummeted as a result of undeserved negative and/or neutral feedback and I am now at 5% customer dis-satisfaction ratings. So I am not ripe for the PayPal bully to steal my money to earn interest off of it. While I’m expected to ship the item on my dime, and hope the buyer leaves me feedback quickly otherwise PayPal will keep my money for 21 days!

EBay said the currently only 5% of all eBay sellers would fall into this category, but they never mention how many they are forecasting they will be able to rob once this takes place. Even using the 5% who will be eBay/PayPal victims right at kick off- they will be raking it in- oh my god that will be so much freaking money. With the amount of sellers screwed increasing daily until I don’t know paypal can freeze 100% of eBay seller’s money for 21 days or until the seller’s customer leaves feedback.

Literally 87% of my customers leave feedback right away, 2% could be anytime in the 90 days of be able to leave feedback. 11% of my customers have never left feedback! EBay would like the world to believe that this is out of fear, but the reality is 99.9% of my customer’s who never left feedback are 100% satisfied. People who are pissed react they don’t just walk away never to be heard from- the demand their selves be heard by either emailing the seller, filing a dispute, or going straight to the feedback board. Never-the-less, it seems rational to conclude that 11% of the time paypal will be holding the funds for 21 days, and possibly that other 2% who leave feedback when they log in next time.

Wow! WOW! WOW!

And they tell the public it is us sellers who are depraved.

Who is the biggest con of them all? eBay Who is eBays partner in crime? PayPal

Who is ripping their customer off? EBayWho is adding to the blow? PayPal

Who is the shady character in this play?

The Ebay paypal demon monster!!!

Upcoming Changes to Feedback on eBay

by: john

Sat Feb 16 10:03:05 2008

Mechelle. same thoughts here, Jeez, dont think I could have found the time to type it all though. lol . Ill put my very condensed simple view forward. [It just doesnt seem to be worth the trouble any more!] I can see bricks and morter shopping making a come back. .lol reaches for a blood presure pill.

Upcoming Changes to Feedback on eBay

by: Adam

Sat Feb 16 19:04:21 2008

That is sad that Ebay only thinks of buyers and forgets who really PAYS the bills(the sellers) i have paid Ebay last year 187562,17 USD in Fees in my 3 Platinum accounts, and i am really thinking of totally quitting Ebay, i have indeed started my own website and i am planning to spend all those fees on advertising my own site and stop being at the mercy of Paypal and Ebay, Paypal and Ebay has sided 100% of the times with the buyers regardless of any proof of shipping and or receipt i had,once i had called Paypal about an Armani watch that i sent to Canada and it showed the time, date and even the minutes the client had received it , and listen to what the agent told me from Paypal, you need to show a proof it is actually the client that has sighned for the item!! how in hell can i do that,they probably want me to fly from Florida to Montreal and find the person and make him sign..... Ebay keep it up and you will surely fail!! look at what happended to AOL , AT&T (when you think you are invincible and your customers(sellers)don't count anymore, then be sure you will go down.

I wish so bad that google would start an auction like Ebay , but to do it the Google way, i will sign up immediately.

http://watches777.blogspot.com/

Upcoming Changes to Feedback on eBay

by: john

Sun Feb 17 05:57:48 2008

Adam . pretty ironic that your receipt shown the time date and minutes that the WATCH was received. I also learnt the hard way with a certificate of posting for a $10 item to germany, paypal made me jump through all kinds of hoops with some veiled threats of fraud [FRAUD? 7500 POITIVES AND NO NEGS!] If i did not send the required copy of certificate of posting by fax. Unfortunately I did not have a fax machine and I told them so, they replied that I should go to a library and send from there. 2 mile trip to a library,+ petrol+ time, + additional time with all the other nonsense assoiciated with it. so? off all the information went, and within 3 hours they refunded the customer with the full cost from my account. 2 days later the customer writes to say the item was delivered and that the postman had posted next door and they just came back from holiday, and they repaid for the item again, I then made some enquires and found out paypal always paid a credit card customer from germany a refund if they claimed it wasnt received. 100% of the time. so? why all the jumping through hoops, i asked if I never stood a chance with a proof of posting?. This was a $10 item, Another instance was a guy if france refusing the insurance and signed for for a $300 item, because? he got free insurance from paypal, if it went missing he would just get his money back, or that was his interprtation of paypal protection, I wrote to him and explained that if it did go missing, paypal would just take the funds from MY account and pay him back. Anyway, he wrote back and said it was all wrong, and he promptly paid the insurance, Paypal protection?. My insured signed for option was taken up by 50% less customers, and I can only put it down to paypal protection giving people the impression that they will receive the funds back if not received. Tried to then get paypal protection removed from my ebay selling account, ringing them up and getting hold of someone in service who had no idea on what I was saying to them. then 3 days later an email arrived saying that my request was being dealt with.. 6 months later its still not been removed. The whole operation seems not worth the trouble any longer. Just makes my blood boil

Upcoming Changes to Feedback on eBay

by: debbie

Mon Feb 18 14:22:15 2008

I just found out today about the changes.And if they are so why bother selling.This is only going to hurt e-bay in the long run.

Upcoming Changes to Feedback on eBay

by: Michael

Mon Feb 18 14:51:52 2008

What a horrible idea. I was under the impression that feedback was an impartial forum for both parties to comment on a transaction. Ebay has for years denied helping a seller or buyer with any feedback issues, so now they decide that giving all the power to the buyer will continue to keep it impartial! LOL> I would love to hear from one medium to large seller on ebay that is happy regarding these changes. And this post does not even mention the new fees. Looks like its time to head to amazon.

Upcoming Changes to Feedback on eBay

by: newman

Mon Feb 18 16:45:06 2008

The following was copied and posted here from one of ebay's dicussion boards.

THE BIG LIEIt’s been years since Ebay has really been a user friendly company, especially when it comes to sellers. This is easy to prove, just try any of the following: See all the hoops they make you go through to get a refund on an unpaid item, or try to have a patently unfair feedback removed, or try to fight an unfair PayPal chargeback (even if you have all the evidense on your side), or try to contact an actual, living customer service representive — and if you do succeed in contacting one, see how helpless they are at resolving most of your problems.But now, eBay has reached a new low in their disrespect toward their sellers. They have cloaked their largest fee increase in the company’s history, as a benefit to the entire eBay community. And they have portrayed their destructive changes to the feedback / selling rules, as a positive change for sellers.This “Big Lie” strategy was used during the lead-up to the war in Iraq. In that case, those in charge used a series of lies and distortions to successfully lead the public to a misguided support of the war. The oft-repeated rhetoric stated that the invasion in Iraq was a vital step in protecting our country from untold weapons of mass destruction. History has told us otherwise.Now, eBay is using a similar tactic, in an effort to put a positive slant on the changes they have outlined for February 20th. This time, I hope, it won’t work.Let’s look at eBay’s own statements, and compare them to the facts:Lie #1 — Bill Cobb states, “Our goal for these changes is to continue to improve the overall experience for our customers, both buyers and sellers.”Truth #1 — While these changes may improve the experience for some buyers, they drastically worsen the situation for the overwhelming majority of sellers.Lie #2 — Bill Cobb states, “We’re making a fundamental change to the economics of selling on eBay, resulting in three significant price reductions.”Truth #2 — The overall fee changes will NOT result in a reduction for anyone, except those who’s items do not sell (they will save a nickle). For everyone else, this is a massive fee increase of more than 40%. Most of the trumpeted “fee reductions” are for expensive add-ons, that are not often used by the majority of eBay sellers.Lie #3 — Bill Cobb states, “First, we’re reducing the up-front risk for all of you by lowering insertion fees for auction and fixed price listings across the board…and we’re balancing that change by adjusting some final value fees.Truth #3 — When you balance something, it is presumed that you give and take equally. In this case, eBay is giving an extremely minor token fee decrease (5 cent reduction on most listings), and ‘balancing’ it with a whopping 67% increase of the final value fee. In practice, this will increase the cost of selling a $25 item from $1.91 to $2.74. This is by far the largest fee increase in eBay’s history. I fail to see the balance.Lie #4 — Bill Cobb states, “All of these changes came as a result of listening to your ideas and concerns … You told us that you want free Gallery. You said you’d prefer fees for success, not listing. But more than anything, you told us that our overall pricing structure is simply not working for you, and that high insertion fees, in particular, have been a big deterrent in moving more of your merchandise onto eBay.”Truth #4 — How many sellers do you think contacted eBay and let the know that they felt that a nickle off the listing fees would be a major improvement in their listing structure? And how many of those same sellers would think that a massive final value fee increase would be a fair trade off? It is true that the free Gallery is a plus, but If Bill was really listening, and he really wanted to eliminate the ‘big deterrent,’ why couldn’t he of reversed the changes. Lower the across-the-board listing fees by 67%, or 50%, or even 25% — and add only 5 or 10 cents on to the final value fee, when an item sells? This would have been a real way to eliminate the “big deterrent in moving more of your merchandise onto eBay.”Lie #5 — Jim Ambach states, “Let’s take a quick look at all the things we’re doing to strengthen our partnership with our sellers:1. Reducing insertion fees2. Free Gallery on all listings!3. Reduced Feature Plus and Pro Pack fees4. Increased listing exposure for sellers with great DSRs5. Pricing discounts for PowerSellers with great DSRs6. Protection from chargebacks for PowerSellers7. All addresses are confirmed addresses for PowerSellers on theireBay listings that are paid with PayPal8. Unlimited PayPal protection for PowerSellers9. Repeat Feedback credit10. Rolling 12-month Feedback Percentage11. Personalized Seller DashboardTruth #5 — Jim forgot to mention a few things, that might not “strengthen our partnership with our sellers.”1. A stunning increase to final value fees — many, many timeshigher than their miniscule reduction in insertion fees.2. Ebay’s “Pricing discounts for PowerSellers” only eliminates a tinyportion of the fee increases. Even with the full 15% Powersellers’discount — fees will increase monumentally. With or without thesmall discount for PowerSellers, THIS IS STILL THE LARGESTFEE INCREASE IN EBAY’S HISTORY! (By a really, really widemargin — really.)3. There are many new penalties to sellers not meeting eBay’scriteria fo success. For low-volume seller’s, one vindictive buyerhas the power to increase your fees and lessen the exposure ofyour eBay listings.5. Sellers can no longer punish abusive, dishonest or deadbeatbuyers with negative feedbacks — sellers can ONLY leave positivefeedbacks!6. The new one-way feedback structure eliminates any constraintson the buyers. They can use feedback as a weapon to extortconcessions from sellers, and sellers will have absolutely norecourse or protection.7. Buyers can, in some cases, cause sellers to have to wait for 21days for their PayPal money, by simply withholding a positivefeedback. Here’s the eBay policy in their own words: “When eBaysuspects the transaction may result in a dissatisfied customer,PayPal will delay release of the payment funds to the seller untilthe buyer has left a positive feedback, or 21 days have passedwithout a dispute.”8. eBay can now force many new sellers to accept PayPal, even ifthey don’t want to. They claim that the seller can get PayPal ORa merchant credit card, but the cost involved in obtaining amerchant credit card makes it prohibitive for most low-volumesellers. This leaves PayPal as the only feasable option. And whois it that benefits financially by PayPal’s use?9. Buyer’s can anonymously hurt you by leaving a 1 or a 2 on anyof the DSR ratings — on any of the four attributes. This canpunish you by eliminating your PowerSeller discounts and makeyour items come up at the bottom of searches. For example,if you state in your description that you use priority mail for allpackages, the buyer can demand you use first class. And if yourefuse, they can leave you a 1 on the “shipping cost” attribute.This will hurt you in numerous ways, but you will have no way todetermine who stabbed you in the back.10. When they state, “All addresses are confirmed addresses forPowerSellers on their eBay listings that are paid with PayPal,”they are not telling the real truth. If you read the fine print, it saysthat this will apply to most (not all) countries.11. The “Repeat Feedback credit” is a double-edged sword –multiple negative feedbacks will also count against you whenthis change takes effect!In conclusion, eBay has instituted a widespread series of changes, and they have tried (and lied) to project these in a positive light. They have made an attempt to imply that these changes have widespread benefits to the selling community. But, if sellers take the time to even give even a cursory glance at these changes, they will find that in fact, they benefit only two groups — buyers (especially the dishonest ones) and eBay itself.As an honest and hard working seller, these changes are quite upsetting to me. However, when eBay tries to tell me that they are for my own benefit, they become even more repugnant. If they just were honest about it, eBay would say, we want to make more money off your labor and we want to make a big, public show of protecting buyers — even as it comes at our sellers’ expense.It has become ever increasingly clear, that eBay does not respect sellers, does not care of our concerns, and does not choose to truly try to reach out to us in a spirit of mutual benefit. But at some point, anyone with any self respect has to say, “enough.”I have never been one to stay where I am unwanted. If these changes become a reality, I will let eBay know that they have gone too far. I will stop providing them with thousands of dollars in annual fees. I will stop recommending them to my customers and friends. And I will find other venues to use, in order to sell my merchandise.Maybe if enough sellers follow this example, eBay will finally stop treating us as second class citizens.

Upcoming Changes to Feedback on eBay

by: Alex

Mon Feb 18 22:40:45 2008

I have come to the conclusion that no matter what happens with the boycott eBay will not change.

So what are the options?

Bite the bullet and get on the other sites or set up your own website and move on.

Amazon is not really an option. I have tried searches on amazon and have consistently found things cheaper and better elsewhere. If you ever try to find a particular seller on amazon, forget it. Plus, if you dont have a upc code you are screwed. Amazon is not the future and they have as many issues as eBay if not more.

Go to the next in line for auction sites.

and there are many more.

If you are selling locally try craigslist.org

But whatever you do, move your stuff off eBay and test the waters everywhere else.

Also www.overstock.com is offering incentives to those who register during the strike week. Try them too.

The point is we have to wean ourselves off eBay. I know its hard and most of us sellers have made a decent living off it, but the time has come when the car is beyond repair, it is time for a new one. Case Closed.

That is the biggest statement that we can give to eBay. Us 20% of the sellers on eBay are also probably the largest buying block. eBay wont feel it much when we leave, but that minority of sellers who make up the 80% of eBay fees sure will. We wont be there buying from them and they will be forced to leave also and go where the customers are. It's business. eBay would probably never recover as once the trust has been broken over and over again it would be very difficult for sellers to once again rely on eBay as their sole source of revenue.

R.I.P. eBay.

"eBay gets a big fat NEGATIVE, No customer service, High Fees and definately ITEM NOT AS DESCRIBED"

Upcoming Changes to Feedback on eBay

by: aLEX

Mon Feb 18 22:49:35 2008

On a side note about the new feedback.

JUST DON'T DO IT!.

Don't leave any feedback at all. Period. Even if a buyer leaves you a NEGATIVE!

Nothing, Nada, Zilch.

If a buyer pesters you report them for harassment as the feedback process is still voluntary (for now).

Inform them that feedback is pointless for all parties as a normal buyer can only get positives no matter how good or bad a buyer is. This same "buyer" can then rack up 100 positives and then start selling with a pristine account and having their listings appear before a seller who has been in business on eBay for years. Doesn't seem fair does it.

I can see excellent "buyer" accounts being offered for sale in the future. How is this "safe" for the marketplace?

Al I see is eBay pushing out the door and telling us to not let the door hit us in the A$$. Don't go away mad, just go away.

"eBay gets a big fat NEGATIVE, No customer service, High Fees and definately ITEM NOT AS DESCRIBED"

Upcoming Changes to Feedback on eBay

by: Ming the Merciless

Tue Feb 19 00:36:50 2008

One more time:

The only kinds of positive results a boycott produces are temporary.

The clock is running.

Fazio

Upcoming Changes to Feedback on eBay

by: Uma

Thu Feb 21 11:48:16 2008

I can believe the gall of eBay to add such a detrimental feedback system for sellers. EBay does not care for the seller in the least, but favor the buyer simply because eBay is after their bottom line. They do not think that without the seller eBay will not be in existence. I hate eBay with a passion and told that another site comes up that will totally destroy it. EBay is nothing but a greedy non-caring monopoly that needs to be stopped. Humility is not in eBay's vocabulary.

Upcoming Changes to Feedback on eBay

by: ratburn

Sat Feb 23 12:25:54 2008

Time to look at other places to sell

Upcoming Changes to Feedback on eBay

by: Walter Jaeckle

Mon Feb 25 03:55:39 2008

I am so outraged. I pay ebay every month over $10'000 in ebay fees not even mention paypal. I have over 17000 feedbacks at 99.1% and worked hard over the years to maintain this number.

Now suddenly fall at the mercy of many malicious impatient buyers, blackmailers and thieves? I understand changes do happen in the marketplace but this change only benefits ebay who wants it's buyer base increased or stabilized at all cost of its fee paying sellers only.

This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. Buyers are leaving ebay because they offer no customer service and don't spend time to get rid of bad sellers - like sellers who sell everything for 90 cents and charge outrageous shipping fees. These are the bad apples on ebay which I have to compete with for over a year now. Soon ebay is no more profitable for every decent sellers with variety and only for sellers with price ranges from one to 91 penny's. Ebay is on its best way to become a junkyard.

If there would be some knowledgeable help at ebay's customer service they could get rid of bad sellers by investigating complaints and maintain buyer satisfaction. Sellers need to keep the tools to fend themselves off from crooks, blackmailers and thieves.

I have been around for a long time in many different businesses and I truly predict this to be the ultimate downfall for ebay in less then 5 years unless they change that feedback system immediately back to where it was- originally.

The fees is something which works on its own. They will have to be competitive. I will be listing on other sites starting next month and maybe one day, once ebay changed back to the old formula, which is what made ebay in the first place - I may be listing again but most likely this will force me to rethink my business strategy and I am sure I will find my way without ebay as thousands of others have done already.

good luck to all

Upcoming Changes to Feedback on eBay

by: Robin

Mon Feb 25 07:22:15 2008

Has ebay become so big, that it can afford to lose so many sellers, that made ebay what it is ? With this new feedback policy for Sellers to not be able to leave a Neg or Nute. feedback, has already caused Sellers to sell elsewhere, when this policy goes into effect, more will be gone, Does ebay have enough corperations selling on ebay now that it can afford to lose all the powersellers and small time sellers ?If this is your goal, you are going at it the right way, because this is exactly what is happening !

Upcoming Changes to Feedback on eBay

by: Ebay is bad

Thu Feb 28 13:31:50 2008

I won't sell on ebay again!

Upcoming Changes to Feedback on eBay

by: Kayne

Thu Feb 28 18:59:24 2008

There is only one thing that sellers can do: boycott.

If a big group of sellers can get together and boycott selling on Ebay, Ebay would listen--this needs to be a very big group of regular sellers.

For this boycott to work, there should be a list of ebay sellers who plan on boycotting Ebay and this list should be sent to Ebay's corporate office along with a letter stating what they want out of Ebay to get back to selling again.

Another thing is for another company to develop an ''Ebay Killer'' so that the sellers have a better place to sell. If a good majority of sellers move to another place or boycott from selling, there is nothing but loss revenue for Ebay. The sellers need to understand that THEY have the power.

This is just a hypothetical, but if there are no sellers on Ebay... what is Ebay going to do with a bunch of buyers?

Upcoming Changes to Feedback on eBay

by: DDY

Wed Mar 5 07:51:44 2008

This is ridiculous and stupid!!!!!!!!!!What the hell are those management thinking? their brain are under their ass?!?!

Upcoming Changes to Feedback on eBay

by: PayPal Terminator

Wed Mar 5 15:12:57 2008

Its just another way of eBay & PayPal kissing the buyers butt & screwing over sellers even more. What this all means is that buyers will initiate a dramatic increase in threatening sellers with negative feedback if the buyers conditions aren't met & sellers cannot do anything about it.

Also whenever there's a fraudulent transaction or a deadbeat bidder, a seller cannot initiate a negative feedback to warn other sellers. The only thing buyers have to do is respond to the non payment complaint and not submit payment, and the buyer still can post negative feedback.

For years eBay and PayPal have been screwing over sellers, by their new fee structure which is a 60% increase in commission fees.

Its another way of giving buyers more power and with power comes abuse.

Upcoming Changes to Feedback on eBay

by: Brian B

Tue Mar 11 05:34:32 2008

Keep the rage up guys ,May 1st Boycott , no selling , no listing , no buying . extortionbay cannot get away with this it will be open slather on anyone left standing if the do . We have the numbers a growwing revolt is happening have a look at the stock prices and the flat 2006 level of listings . Never never ever give up on this one !!Higher fees for the small guys and zero for the big corporations ??? Ebay you cannot last long you have screwed too many intelligent folks for too long. 6 or 7 figure incomes to make stupid restrictive , dictotorial rules to get rid of the very folks who made that happen . Adolph would have been proud of you clowns! Go Feebay. GO TO CORPORATE HELL !!!!MAYDAY BOYCOTT Starting MAY 1st 20008 . Support and survive.Look for alternatives and TAKE YOUR CUSTOMERS with you . You did the hard work NOT greedbay.

Upcoming Changes to Feedback on eBay

by: Ming the Merciless

Mon Mar 17 04:52:38 2008

I think it would be very interesting to see how many sellers have had buyers tell them they're leaving or have left ebay because of their fear of receiving or receipt of negative feedback.

I know from my own experience that the ability to leave feedback AFTER a buyer does has prevented a lot of undeserved neutral or negative feedback for all the special little princes and princesses who are much too important to abide by any seller's policies or even ebay policies.

Based on ebay's multi year history of deceptions and misrepresentations, I think the odds are excellent that their so called focus group either never existed in the first place or a skilled leader manipulated participants into making certain responses which would coincide with the results ebay wanted to obtain.

I've been an ebay member for more than 10 years, and no customer has ever told me they were leaving ebay because of the negative feedback issue. Instead, I've received HUNDREDS of customer emails saying they were leaving because of constant security issues, lack of virtually any really helpful customer service, and a growing complexity of using the website.

Ina, please do a poll. I think ebay is fibbing again.

Login is required to post comments.To sign in to leave a comment using your AB Verify User Name, fill in the form below. If you have not yet signed up for AB Verify, or if you'd like more information, go to the Registration Page.

Login for AB VerifyBe sure and use your email address and password to log in.